How To Cure Your Friends' Post-Final Grumps
by smileyfacebabe
Summary: Wherein Demyx forces Christmas cheer down the throats of his sleep deprived friends and misses Zexion a metric butt-ton. AukRoku (aka Axel/Roxas) and slight Zexion/Demyx


Author's Note: So I wrote a bunch of friends stories as presents and this is one of them. Haven't written anything Kingdom Hearts in ages, so I was a little rusty, but I like how it came out. Enjoy and Merry (late) Christmas guys!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

"I'm bored," Demyx whined. He flopped over Roxas' legs, dropped his head in the other man's lap, curled his body around the legs of his computer chair and Roxas' legs. "Gimmie something to do, Roxie."

"Go away," Roxas said absently. "I've got to study or I'm going to fail this stupid final."

"But I'm _bored_."

"Not all of us can skip going to college to do what we love, asshole. Please shut up so I can focus."

"Roxas," Demyx said, a little bit seriously. "You're going to kill yourself trying to finish school. Chill out for a second, dude, just breathe."

"I can breathe when I'm dead."

"Uh, Rox, actually you can't."

Roxas sighed, rolled back an inch in the computer chair so that he could stare down at Demyx. Demyx tipped his head back and studied the stress lining Roxas' blue eyes and mouth, his tense shoulders and the way he held his arms like they were wooden planks.

"Dem," Roxas said quietly, but not unkindly. "Go write a song or something. I've got three tests in two days and I need to study. I'm sorry, but go away."

Demyx sighed, untangled himself from Roxas' lap, and stood up. His shoulders were slumped and his bare feet dragged along the carpet as he shuffled away. "Fine," he said, as huffily as he could. It really bummed him out that all his friends were freaking out about finals this week. They were all ridiculously smart and usually more put together than he was, but one by one they had all fallen apart within the last week over school. Zexion hadn't called in, like, three days.

_Please tell me you're up for something that doesn't involve putting your face in a textbook_, he texted Axel as he dropped on the couch. He couldn't turn the television on, because television was one of the most distracting things to Roxas and he couldn't write a song. He'd tried, before going into the office room to bother Roxas. There was just static and stardust where his brain was, nothing else.

**I'm not leaving this goddamn library until I've memorized everything in my Inorganic Chemistry study guide**, Axel replied eventually. Demyx had started to count the dots on the ceiling, he was so bored.

_Boo, you whore_.

Axel didn't respond. Demyx imagined he was bent double over one of the desks in the library, like the hundreds of other students suffering in that building of supposed knowledge. Demyx made a face at the idea and then, out of desperation, tried to call Zexion. Zexion always picked up or at least texted back.

"Demyx, no," Lexaeus answered. "You really, really don't want to bother him right now."

Demyx deflated like the last bit of air out of a leaky balloon. "Oh," he said quietly.

"He's really stressed right now," Lexaeus said, just as quietly. He sounded a little bit like someone in a horror movie trying not to alert the monster of their hiding spot. "Really, just give me a week and everything will be okay. But not now, okay?"

Demyx had known Zexion for a while now, long enough to know how important his schoolwork was to him. He took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as he could. "Make sure he sleeps and eats," Demyx said softly, because if left alone Zexion would starve and go without sleep until the end of final week.

Lexaeus snorted. "Yeah, don't worry, I've got him." He hung up after that, no goodbye. It was his usual way, but it still made Demyx sad. If Axel wasn't coming home until he had everything from his study guide memorized (and Demyx had seen that packet, it was ten pages; cumulative tests were the worst) and Roxas wasn't going to do anything but freak out and hunch over his text book…

_Can I come over and play with your puppy_, he texted Saix.

If you come within fifty feet of my house before Friday night I will demolish you with my bare hands.

He didn't even bother trying to get Sora or Riku to talk to him, considering they had gone to a college in another state. It was a lost cause; everyone he knew had been bitten by the finals bug. Larxene had stabbed him the other day when he'd tried to stop by the coffee shop and say hi. Marluxia had thrown a book at him and started shrieking.

"Finals are the worst," Demyx moaned, rolling over to lay on his back. His phone sat on his stomach, just in case anyone changed their mind and wanted to talk to him.

"Don't you _dare_ start," Roxas all but shouted. "Because I do _not want to hear it._"

"I've made you stress cupcakes," Demyx said, moving slowly into the room so that he wouldn't spook Axel. The redhead still jumped about a mile in the air, which meant he knocked Roxas' book off the bed, which meant the blond jerked up to glare at the pair of them like he was plotting their immediate deaths.

"Get out," they said together.

Match made in Hell, they were. Demyx bit back a sigh, feeling his shoulders slump. "It's two in the morning," Demyx told them. "You've been studying for six days. You've barely stopped to eat or sleep; all you do is go to class, work, and then come home and study." He didn't mention the shouting or the object throwing or the way their pantry door wouldn't shut, because Roxas and Axel had always been volatile people (and an even more volatile couple, good god, living with them was nightmare sometimes) and pointing it out would only stress them out more. "Please," he said, lost for what to do, "eat a cupcake."

Roxas put his head in his hands. His shoulders hunched out like a gargoyle's wings, his hair tangled, greasy and sticking up in every direction. In contrast Axel's was flat, tied back tight enough that Demyx knew it must have been giving him a headache, and there were bags under Axel's eyes that a packrat would have envied, which stretched all the way down to the top of his tattoos. There wasn't an inch of their bed that wasn't covered in textbooks and notes, all of which held information that most definitely went straight over Demyx's head.

The sight was such a bummer, it was making Demyx stress out. If his stupid housemates didn't cut it out soon he was going to get greasy nasty hair and hideous bags under his eyes too. Neither moved to take a cupcake at first, even though Demyx held out two on a plate and wiggled the plate a little bit. He was just about to give up and go back to the kitchen, clean up his mess, and then bury himself in his covers to pretend his friends weren't killing themselves over something so stupid as a letter on a page, but then Axel sighed. The lanky man ran a hand through his hair and as he did so something uncurled from the tight line of Roxas' shoulders.

"I'm so fucking hungry," Roxas said, lifting his head slowly. He looked a little surprised by this statement, like he hadn't realized that before. "Oh my god, what the hell, I'm _starving_."

"Do you have anything with meat," Axel said. "Because I will eat that cupcake, but then I need meat."

Demyx grinned, wider than he had in days. "I've got leftover stroganoff," he beamed.

"Hallelujah," Roxas said. He crawled over his notes and Axel's chemistry book, all but fell to the floor of his and Axel's bedroom. Axel caught him at the last second, hauling him up as he stood. They leaned together, curled toward each other as they staggered forward. Demyx held out their cupcakes and then turned, leading the way back to the kitchen. The twenty minutes Roxas and Axel spent eating desperately in the kitchen were the most relaxed and happy Demyx had seen them in two weeks.

"All I want for Christmas is sleep," Roxas moaned as he left the room.

"I want to sleep until New Year's, blow something up, and then sleep some more."

"God yes," Roxas all but moaned, grinning a little at his boyfriend as they left the room. Demyx watched them go, knowing they'd be up at least another hour trying to cram all the information in their heads that they could fit. Roxas had a nine o' clock exam the next morning and a paper due at five in the afternoon that the blond wasn't entirely sure he'd even started yet.

_Christmas_, Demyx thought. There was an idea building in the back of Demyx's brain, something curling around his thoughts and growing more solid by the second. He blinked at the sink full of dirty dishes for a minute while he fought with the idea, dragging it out of its dark corner and into the light of the kitchen's overhead fan.

"Oh my god," he told the empty kitchen. "I'm a genius."

Unlike the last time he said that at two thirty in the morning, nothing flooded. He left the dirty dishes in the sink to soak and went to start his brilliant, absolutely _fool proof _plan.

By Friday, everything was in place. Which, actually, was a little surprising. He hadn't had a plan come together like this ever. Several things had gone wrong, of course, but Xigbar had agreed to bring the booze and Lexaeus had promised he'd get Zexion to the house and no one had said no when he'd told them to show up, but that was probably because he had promised pizza. He'd lied to them, because pizza didn't scream CHRISTMAS at the top of its lungs, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them until they got there, right? And he had other food for them, actual food, with like, vegetables and stuff. Everything was going great, Demyx thought, which obviously meant they were going to crash and burn before they could even start.

Axel got home before Demyx did, actually. He had gone out to pick up the things from the store and had come home to find Axel's bike back in the driveway, parked at a crooked angle. He hadn't seen Axel yet, but he'd been able to smell the scent of Axel's body wash through the vents, so he'd assumed the red head had taken a shower and crashed out to sleep. Roxas wasn't supposed to be home until four, because his last test was at two thirty in the afternoon. Personally Demyx thought that was an idiotic time to have a test, but whatever, he didn't control the college education system. Which was a bummer, because he definitely would have been able to put together a better system than whoever had built the system. The system _sucked_.

Axel woke up sometime around three in the afternoon, staggered down the stairs for a glass of water, and then stomped back upstairs. "If you wake me up before next week," he called over his shoulder, "I'll kill you. Got it memorized?"

"Um," Demyx said. Axel was half-asleep, so he didn't catch the awkward shuffle Demyx performed at the base of the stairs. "Sure," the blond agreed. "Absolutely." Axel nodded to himself and then staggered back to his room, leaving Demyx to stare up at his closed bedroom door.

"Definitely having Xigbar wake him then," Demyx muttered. He went back to getting everything ready, because it took a lot more than he thought to put his plan into action. He still needed someone bigger than he was to get the last thing out of the car, but he figured he could rope Lexaeus into it once he arrived.

Evidently, he had put too much faith into Lexaeus' abilities.

"What do you _mean_ you're not coming," Demyx said. He blinked at the kitchen clock, watched the second hand tick past six, couldn't breathe until it touched the nine. "You _have_ to come," he continued, breathless and desperate. "Lexaeus!"

Lexaeus sighed into the phone, his own this time. "I'm sorry Demyx," he said, "but Zexion says he just wants to sleep."

"But," Demyx said, scrambling for a reason that would convince Lexaeus he _needed_ to bring his best friend over. He couldn't find one.

"Sorry Demyx. Maybe in a few days. He was really freaking out over finals and I'm not sure he's actually technically alive right now."

"I- But- _Lex_," Demy whined.

"Sorry," Lexaeus said again. He hung up before Demyx could say anything else. Demyx was left blinking at the clock, feeling himself lose steam. He thought about texting Xigbar, calling the whole thing off, forgetting the whole plan because it was stupid, maybe his friends needed sleep more than they needed this, but he when he opened up his phone to text everyone he found a message in his inbox from Sora.

_Just crossed state lines_, Sora said, _can't wait to get there and see everyone_.

"Fuck sleep," Demyx said. Sleep wasn't going to fix his friends (though he had to admit it would probably help), his fool proof plan was going to fix his friends. With love. And stuff.

His determination wilted a little bit again, however, once Roxas came home.

"What are these boxes," Roxas said. It wasn't even a question anymore, not really. Demyx fidgeted. "Demyx," Roxas said, sounding a little bit like a rubber band about to snap, "_what are these boxes_."

"Go take a shower," Demyx said, reaching out to take Roxas' bag from him. He hung it up on the peg Axel had installed last year, rolling his shoulders. _Be brave_, he told himself; _your plan is fool proof_.

"Demyx, what is in those boxes?"

"It's a surprise," Demyx said, biting his lip. "Go take a shower." He figured it would be easier to break the news now instead of later, so he took a couple steps back, tried to act casual about it, and completely failed. "We're having everyone over and you smell."

Roxas' face did something funny, like there was a glitch in the Matrix. He breathed in and then out, slow and deep. "Nope," Roxas said, turning toward the stairs. He didn't say anything else, but a few minutes later Demyx heard the shower turn on.

"I'm so getting Xigbar to wake them up," he muttered again. He still had three hours until everyone was supposed to show up, which meant he had three hours to figure out how to convince Lexaeus to bring Zexion over. If only Zexion would just _learn to drive_, Demyx lamented, but then he would be even more stubborn about going places.

By seven Demyx still didn't have a damn clue how to get Zexion over. He'd pretty much given up on the idea, settling into a less excited version of himself. He'd been so happy earlier, when he thought his fool proof plan was going to work out correctly. He was sulking on the couch when Xigbar walked in, big brown paper bags under each arm. Larxene and Marluxia were behind him, each carrying another bag.

"I don't smell pizza," Larxene said. She looked a little bit like she was looking for someone to stab. Demyx swallowed and put his hand over his shoulder, where she'd stabbed him with the pen several days before.

"I lied," Demyx confessed. "But I made food?"

Marluxia stopped dead in the middle of the room, betrayal crossing his face. "I trusted you," he said quietly. "I _trusted _you."

"My food isn't that bad," Demyx cried, feeling small and stupid.

"Right on," Xigbar said, grinning. He dropped his bags on the counter and then took Larxene's off her hands. Larxene kicked one of the boxes and, when it did not make a noise, bent down to open it. Demyx jumped up and pushed her back, immediately retracting his arms to himself when she snapped her head up to glare at him.

"You'll, uh… You'll ruin the surprise?"

"You're lucky Xigbar drove us here," Larxene said darkly, "because otherwise I would leave." Demyx gulped. Marluxia put his bags of booze next to Xigbar's and then dropped dramatically onto the couch.

"I _trusted you_," he said again. Demyx winced. Luckily the door burst open before he could stammer out another apology and Sora tumbled in, scarf wrapped around his neck.

"Oh my god, it's so cold outside," Sora said, "This is why I don't live here, oh _god_, how do you even survive? It's, like, twenty degrees outside."

"What Sora means," Riku explained, trudging in behind the brunette, smiling a little bit at the corner of his mouth, "is 'Hello'."

"Hello," Sora shouted. He was beaming from ear to ear, bundled up in a coat Demyx was 98% sure was Riku's, and already bouncing on his toes. Sora's cheer brought out the excitement in Demyx again.

"Hi," Demyx shouted back. They grinned at each other for a second, before Riku rolled his eyes and muttered something about bubbly idiots. "Rude," he sniffed, pretending to be offended.

"There isn't pizza," Larxene informed them.

"We've been lied to," Marluxia confirmed.

"But Demy cooked, so stop your gripin'," Xigbar said.

"Dude, I _love_ your cooking!"

Demyx shot a pointed look at Marluxia and Larxene, but they ignored him. Riku glanced around the room, frowning when he didn't find what he was looking for.

"Where's Zex," he asked, shrugging out of his coat and closing the door behind him. Demyx's smile slid off his face.

"Not coming," Demyx muttered.

"Dude," Xigbar said. He slung a companionable arm around Demyx's shoulders and gave him a squeeze. Demyx nodded a little bit while Riku frowned even more. _Finals_, Demyx mouthed at him. The silver haired man's smile didn't slide away.

"Are Roxas and Axel upstairs?" Sora asked, already bouncing for the stairs. He was halfway up it without an answer when the front door opened and Saix walked in, dog in tow. Sora immediately whirled around, darting back down the stairs to leap toward the puppy. The dog leapt for Sora too and Saix let go of the leash with a sigh.

"_Goofy_," Sora cheered. The dog leapt into Sora's arms and the man and dog tumbled to the ground. Saix gave the pair a small sigh and a fond smile before stepping over their flailing limbs so he could drop down on the couch.

"Ugh," Saix said. "Finals."

"Saix, you're a fucking TA, don't even fucking talk to me right now," Larxene bitched. Marluxia made a humming noise in the back of his throat, the one he always made whenever he agreed with the blood crazy blond but was too lazy to verbalize.

"Do you know how many things I've graded in the past couple of days," Saix moaned. "I swear to god, if Xemnas ever tries to get me to TA for him again I'll _shoot him_."

"Oh c'mon," Xigbar argued. He reached in one of the bags and pulled out a bottle, something purple-ish, Demyx couldn't tell what. He tossed it to Saix, who caught it with ease. "Being a TA isn't _that_ hard. Least you can drown your sorrows in booze and good company, man."

"Good company," Saix drawled, smirking. "I didn't know that was available around here."

"I had hoped you were joking," Roxas said suddenly from the top of the stairs. He wasn't wearing anything but a pair of boxers, boxers Demyx was positive were technically Axel's. They were kind of sliding down his hips and they had a hole around the waistband.

"Tell them to fuck off," Axel yelled through the open bedroom door.

"But I've got a _surprise _for everyone," Demyx shouted back. "Please," he added, when Roxas blinked at him and Larxene rolled her eyes. "I know you guys have been stressing out and I wanted to do something fun." Nobody moved, nobody spoke. Not even Sora said anything, staring at Demyx with an expression he couldn't decipher even ten years down the road of their friendship. He swallowed. "Please," he repeated quietly.

"I fucking hate you," Larxene grumbled. "I _fucking _ hate you. God_dammit_. Roxas, go get your piece of shit boyfriend out of bed and get dressed."

"Fuck you," Roxas said. It was his typical reaction to his cousin bossing him around. He did, however, turn around and trudge back into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. Demyx could see the light come on around the spaces in the doorframe, which made him smile a little bit at the corner of his mouth.

"Thanks Larxy," he muttered.

"I will stab you again, you little prick, don't you dare think I won't."

Demyx twisted his hands together in front of him and tried not to break his face in half with a grin. Larxene had always been brutal, toward everyone, ever since they were small. She had been his first friend and his longest standing defender. She was the one who told him that if he didn't want to go to college then 'fucking don't, why the hell are you being such a bitch about this, Jesus fucking _Christ_, Demyx, shut up'.

"So," Sora said from the ground. Demyx could hear Axel bitching about getting out of bed all the way from the first floor and through their closed door. "What's in the boxes?"

"Surprise," Demyx answered.

Riku snorted. "Throw me something that isn't beer," he asked Xigbar. "I'm gonna need something stronger than goddamn piss water if he's gonna keep throwing that word around."

"I have vodka," Xigbar suggested. Riku's face was priceless, twisting into disgust for half a second before he shook his head.

"Rum?"

"Oh, I've got rum. Catch."

Riku caught the bottle of rum, but only just barely. He made a face at it, muttered _ugh, Captain Morgan_, and then unscrewed the lid and took a swig. Marluxia snorted from his spot on the couch, lounged back again Larxene's side.

"I'm going to take it the class with Sparrow went well then," he drawled, grinning. Riku grimaced at him, rolling his shoulders in an absentminded motion.

"I wanted to throttle him most of the time," Riku said, "which wasn't anything new. But it went better than expected, so I can't really complain."

"I can complain," Axel butted in. He was clomping down the stairs, dressed in an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt. His hair was a bird's nest of red, his skin pale, and the bruises under his eyes standing out like neon signs. Roxas was right behind him, also dressed in a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt. "I can complain for days," he continued, scowling at everyone in the living room.

"Yes," Riku said dryly. "We're actually very aware of this talent of yours. Sadly no one cares."

Demyx took a minute to stare at his friends. There were people missing, of course; Zexion and Lexaeus, Luxord (who no one had heard from since September), Namine and Kairi (who were overseas visiting family), Kadaj, Reno, Rude, Leon, Cloud… But he was surrounded by people he loved, people he wanted the very best for in life. It felt nice to see them all. They looked like worn out soldiers leaning against each other after a battle, pale and tired, no energy in their eyes. Even Sora looked a little drained, though his smile was bright as ever. He wanted to help them, wanted to bring the light back into their eyes. Maybe they did need a night of rest, but they also needed company.

"Demyx," Roxas said, blinking at him and bringing him out of his thoughts. "Are you going to tell us what are in the goddamn boxes anytime soon?"

Demyx cleared his throat, shifted his weight from foot to foot. Xigbar was the only one in the room who knew and he squeezed the blond's shoulder reassuringly. "Um," Demyx said, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. "Christmas…?"

"Christmas," Larxene repeated flatly.

"Christmas," Xigbar confirmed, nodding. He was the oldest out of them, even older than Saix, but he was the most laid back guy Demyx had ever met.

"Oh god," Axel muttered. As one of Demyx's best friends it was sort of his job to pick up the hint first, though he had a feeling Larxene understood what he was trying to do and was firmly in denial it was happening. "Demyx, _no_, I wanted to sleep."

Riku dragged one of the boxes that was closest to the couch against his legs and opened it up. It was full of lights and yard decorations. He didn't seem very surprised by the contents of the box, but he didn't exactly seem thrilled either. Marluxia made a noise like a frightened donkey, throwing his hands in the air and knocking his head back against the couch.

"_I trusted you_," he wailed at the ceiling. Larxene patted his knee with one hand, smirking a little at her boyfriend's distress. 75% of their relationship involved one of them smirking at the other's distress, though, so Demyx didn't bother taking it as a sign that she approved of his plan.

"Decorating is fun," Demyx said, feeling very small. "I thought we could get together and do something fun because you all were so stressed about school and I didn't know how to help because you all tried to stab me or set me on fire or run me over with your car, so I thought, hey, Christmas, because everyone loves Christmas and nobody had mentioned decorating and I bought a tree, it's out in the car but I can't get it out because Lexaeus refused to drag Zexion out here and now we're missing people and _Christmas_ is coming but no one cares because you're all killing yourself trying to be boring mindless robots!"

The room was silent. Demyx covered his face with his hands and groaned. He stayed like that until he heard someone sigh from the other side of the room.

"I love decorating for Christmas," Sora said. Demyx peeked at him and found him sprawled across the floor, smiling softly up at him. Goofy was draped across his chest, the dog's head tucked under the brunette's chin. Riku snorted from the couch and muttered _understatement of the year_ under his breath. Sora ignored him. "I'd love to help you decorate for Christmas, Dem."

"Thanks Sora," Demyx said weakly.

"Demyx," Axel said. He didn't sound annoyed anymore and when Demyx glanced at him he was standing there, arm around Roxas, looking a little bit like he'd been punched in the gut. "It's dark outside," he pointed out.

Demyx went a little bit red. He would have told everyone to come around earlier, but seven was the earliest he could be sure everyone would arrive. "Well," he said, fidgeting.

"We can decorate tomorrow," Riku cut in. "How about tonight we eat, relax, and drink all the booze Xigbar brought?" He gestured to the six large brown paper bags on the counter top and the four pots crowding around the stove as he talked. Demyx felt his insides warm and a grin spread across his face. He started to nod, bouncing a little bit on his toes.

"I am _not _sleeping on the fold out couch on the second floor," Marluxia said, faux obnoxiously. "It smells like mold."

"It does not," Axel argued.

"Does to."

"Does _not_."

"Does _to_."

"Does not times infinity!"

"God_dammit_," Marluxia cried. He huffed, crossing his arms. "Still not sleeping on it."

"Riku and I will sleep on it," Sora offered, grinning a little bit, "and you are Larxene can share the blow up mattress."

Larxene shot her boyfriend a look that would have flayed a lesser man alive and he wilted like a flower in winter. "No," Marluxia said meekly, "we'll sleep on the fold out couch."

"Whoo," Demyx cheered, jumping up and down. Xigbar removed his arm from his shoulders with a chuckle and the blond darted forward, wrenching open one of the largest boxes in the room. He dug in it for a second before he pulled out a hat, which was red and green with little jingle bells on it.

"An elf hat," Sora gasped. He made grabby hands out at Demyx and he laughed, tossing the brunette the hat. Sora shoved it on his head without a second thought, shaking his head side to side to make the bells jingle.

"_Demyx_," Larxene said, warning evident in her tone, but it was already too late. Demyx started to toss the hats he'd gotten for each of his friends around the room. Axel's hot-rod flame Santa hat hit him in the face while Roxas' black and white checkerboard Santa hat hit him in the stomach. Axel groaned but Roxas let out a quiet laugh and pulled his hat over his bed mused blond hair. Marluxia didn't even bother to act like his green Santa hat made him gag, mostly because it had pink hippy flowers all over it while Riku gave his springy Christmas Tree hat a foul look before sighing and pulling it on. Larxene picked hers up off her lap with two fingers, as if she was disgusted by it, but Demyx could see the smile at the corner of her mouth, which meant she found the Grinch Santa hat amusing. Xigbar all but snatched his pirate Santa hat out of Demyx's hands while Saix studied his blue Santa hat (with the crescent moon on the end instead of a puff ball) for a long minute before he nodded and quietly slipped it over his hair. There were still hats in the box, he'd bought one for everyone, but he left them there, since they were missing.

"Where's yours," Roxas asked as he wrestled Axel for the red head's hat. Axel was trying to keep it away from his boyfriend in the hopes he wouldn't have to wear it, but Roxas wasn't having any of it. Demyx blinked at the question before blushing a little bit. He pulled his hat out of the box, which was candy cane striped red and white, and pulled it over his hair. Before anyone could ask why he was blushing he squeezed the pompom on the end of the hat and it cheerfully started to sing Jingle Bell Rock. The room groaned as one, their faces contorting into fond exasperation.

"If his hat sings I'm going to need that vodka of yours," Larxene told Xigbar. Xigbar flashed her a thumbs up and started to dig through the paper bags, pulling out everything he'd bought, which sort of appeared like the entire contents of the liquor store. Demyx watched his friends relax and talk and laugh all night, feeling a little bit like Santa Claus himself. That feeling only lasted for a couple hours, however, because the next morning they were woken up at the ass crack of dawn by a banging on their front door.

Sora and Riku had taken the living room couch, even though it didn't fold out into a bed. Demyx could hear Riku swearing from the top of the stairs and the sound of the door slamming open. He tried to stumble down the steps as fast as he could, but his toes got tangled in his sleeping pants and he ended up curled over the railing, inching down on his belly, blinking the sleep away from his eyes.

"Hel _lo_ you lovely bunch of assholes," Kadaj shouted as he shoved through the opening door. He knocked Riku back a step and burst through the entryway, tossing Demyx a box that knocked him in the knees and then fell to the floor. Reno was right on his heels, shedding clothing like a stripper and dropping it to the floor.

"And how are you graceful creatures this morning, _hm_?" Kadaj continued, tossing away his hat and joining Reno in on the impromptu strip tease.

Reno answered, of course. "I'm doing just dandy, thanks for asking-"

Reno's entirely too loud and boisterous voice was sharply cut off as Riku swung his fist into Reno's face. Reno fell aback against the wall, sputtering and holding his jaw, while Rude inched through the doorway and closed it behind him, locking out the sunshine that was already shining bright. Kadaj merely chuckled, probably because he'd purposefully marched far past his annoyed younger brother to avoid getting clocked in the jaw.

"Ow," Reno said, pouting.

"That wasn't very nice, baby boy," Kadaj scolded. The effect was kind of ruined, however, because he was smirking. Kadaj found everyone's pain funny except his own, even his best friend's.

"I thought you guys said you weren't coming," Demyx muttered. He'd given up sliding down the banister on his stomach, feet wobbling behind him, and was now sitting on the steps, sliding down them one bump at a time. His toes were touching the package, which meant he was close to the bottom. Rude walked over, another box in his arms, and offered Demyx a hand up. He gave Demyx a sheepish look, which meant his facial expressions didn't change much, but his shoulders did. He was still wearing his sunglasses inside.

"The divas decided they were up for company today," Rude muttered quietly. He heaved Demyx onto his feet and then supported his weight over to one of the kitchen stools, leaving him sitting there with the two identical boxes. Rude made his way through the kitchen like it was his own house, which didn't really surprise Demyx; Rude walked through every house like it was his own.

Behind him Kadaj and Riku got into one of their legendary brother-arguments, which involved a lot of hissing and hair flipping and snide comments about who they were and were not sleeping with. Reno snuck up the stairs, presumably to wake up Axel (and make lewd comments at Roxas) and Sora, typically, wonderful, sunshine-y Sora, slept on through the noise.

Demyx kind of envied Sora. Larxene had goaded in him into drinking way, way too much rum and Coke last night. The blond put his head down on the table and closed his eyes, trusting that Rude would make him coffee so that he could make everyone else food. Rude, as usual, did not fail him.

"Alright, does everyone have their jobs?"

Everyone in the living room gave him a look filled with varying degrees of acknowledgement. Sora and Axel were nodding, both a little giggling around the seams (mostly because those two didn't _get_ hangovers, what a load of shit), while everyone else just kind of blinked. Riku, Kadaj, and Reno, however, were sulking.

"Why do we have to rake leaves," Kadaj whined, for the fifth time.

"Why can't I help Sora with the tinsel," Riku asked, for the third time.

"Why am I going grocery shopping," Reno muttered, for the tenth time. Rude rolled his eyes from behind him and Demyx figured he would have complained about his duty, but Reno-babysitting had been his job since the day those two had met. He was too used to the red head's ways to find any new complaints.

"Because I said so," Demyx told them all. "And put on your hats, it took me hours to find them all."

"Just do it," Saix said, wearing his own hat and just about every coat he owned. "The fight isn't worth it; we all know Demyx is going to win when it comes to decoration for the holidays."

Slowly and with a great deal of glowering, the three put on their hats. Riku was the first to seat his Santa hat on his head, but Reno and Kadaj took their time, exaggerating their motions so that he understood perfectly that the only reason they were agreeing to do this was because Xigbar had threatened to shoot them with the paintball gun. Kadaj's hat was faux leather with cheetah print in the place of the white on the brim with a bell instead of a pompom and Reno's had a bit of mistletoe instead of a pompom and written on the red part of the hat was _kiss me, it's a tradition_. Rude's hat was just a regular red Santa hat, but his had a detachable beard. He had been quietly pleased with his and had yet to take off the beard or the hat.

"Alright, then. Start working, I guess."

"Slave driver," Reno muttered, grabbing his keys. He'd already struggling into his multiple layers of clothes. Rude was hot on his heels, dressed in his usual jeans and jacket, as if he didn't feel the cold. Demyx almost suspected he didn't, not really.

"Bye Reno," Sora chirped, waving. Reno shot him a sour look that slowly curled into a smile, because it was kind of impossible to scowl at Sora when he beamed and waved at you. Roxas had perfected it, but even Cloud twitched out of his frown every once in a while.

"Bye brat," Reno grumbled. Kadaj pushed past him grumbling, his shoulders hunched up to his ears like a cat. Saix followed him, coat collar turned up and Goofy trailing him dutifully, so that they could go on their morning walk. Riku disappeared with an amused Marluxia up the stairs to the second floor, on a quest to look for that last damn box of decorations Demyx hadn't found the day before. The others lazily scattered to their tasks, Sora throwing open the first box of Christmas tree decorations even though the tree wasn't inside yet while Roxas went to fiddle with the stereo system. Axel wandered over to Roxas, pressed a quick kiss to his boyfriend's forehead, and then followed a heckling Xigbar out the front door so that they could go blow off the roof. Roxas stood smiling after his boyfriend for a short minute before Larxene threw a shoe at his head and snapped _no Beach Boys this year, I fucking mean it, short shit_. Demyx watched them for a short minute, his insides all mushy. But then Larxene grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him out into the front yard so that they could figure out how to get the stupid tree out of his car.

"Your car is going to smell like pine for the rest of its life," Larxene muttered, eying it through the back window.

"No," Axel shouted from the roof. He was kind of just lounging at the edge, letting Xigbar figure out how to work the stupid leaf blower so they could get the mushy snow wet leaves off. "Seriously, how did you get that thing in there?"

"Uh," Demyx stalled. He could feel his cheeks heat around the corners of his big scarf, the one Zexion had bought him last year. "I, uh…"

"You looked lost and helpless until some big strong guy came around, huh," Larxene snickered. Axel snorted so hard he almost slipped off the icy roof, catching himself at the last moment.

"I was going to strap it to the roof," Demyx protested," but I didn't have any rope!"

"Hopeless," Larxene sneered, but in her almost sweet way. It was the You're Lucky I'm Fond Of You sneer, the one she saved for Demyx and Axel and nobody else. Her Grinch hat made that sneer all the more endearing, actually, which probably said something about Demyx's mental health. This is why he got bit a lot by wild animals, he reminded himself as they both studied the tree in the car.

Behind them a car pulled against the curb and Axel shrieked as Xigbar warmed the icy wet snow leaves with his leaf blower, making the small landslide of wet things press against Axel as it rushed for the side of the roof. Demyx turned around to make sure that Axel hadn't died (and that they didn't need to take him to the ER, because that was no in his plans, ever, that was _Roxas'_ job as his boyfriend) only to find Axel hanging off the roof by his legs, Xigbar clinging to him and laughing, face pressed against Axel's lower back as they swayed precariously. But that didn't really capture Demyx's attention like it probably should have, because about five feet away from him Zexion was stepping out of the passenger seat of the car and straightening to shoot him a small smile.

"I guess the holiday season really has started then," Zexion muttered as he walked over. His shoulders were rounded, just the barest bit of a hunch to his posture, which Demyx knew meant he felt awkward. Demyx threw his arms around Zexion the second he came close enough, pulling him against his body and just burrowing his face into Zexion's hair. Zexion relaxed against him, arms slowly coming up to wrap around him too.

"The holiday season would never start without you," Demyx muttered. Roxas stormed out to shout at Axel, screaming something about not even getting to the light up deer before he fell off this time and how he was a worthless moron. Axel was trying to shout back, but his voice was drowned out by Xigbar's continuous laughter. They could have set off a packet of fireworks, aimed right at Demyx's face, and he wouldn't have cared, though.

"I've got a hat for you," Demyx said, gesturing at the house.

"Hm," Zexion said. He was leaning against Demyx's side, letting the taller blond curl against him like a cat. He was smiling and though he still had bags around his eyes and his skin was too pale, he looked happy.

"It's got antlers," Demyx muttered. He had a mouthful of slate colored hair but he didn't give a damn. He clung onto Zexion like he thought the human personification of finals week was going to run up and snatch him again.

"_Gay_," Kadaj yelled at them from around the corner of the house.

"Shut up you leaf-fucker," Larxene snapped. "You're just pissed because no one would touch your dick with a ten foot pole."

Zexion snorted against Demyx's chin. Lexaeus scooted past them to reach the car and help Larxene wrestle the tree out of Demyx's stupid old car. Demyx hardly noticed, however, because he could swear he could feel Zexion's heartbeat pounding away against his own, even through their layers upon layers of clothes. He hardly noticed Axel get pulled back on the roof or Roxas stomp his way back in their house, nor Larxene's many and violent swears as they fought to shove the tree through the front door. Eventually, however, Zexion pulled back an inch and that forced Demyx to release his koala-like grip on the other man.

Zexion quirked a smile at him, reached up and dragged his hair out of his face. He was wearing the pompom hat Demyx had made for him last year, but he pulled it off and stuffed it in his pocket after a second. "You said there's a hat for me," Zexion prompted quietly.

Demyx reached out and tangled his fingers through Zexion's. "With antlers," he repeated, grinning uncontrollably.

"I love antlers," Zexion announced.

"I'm going to barf," Kadaj complained loudly from the corner of the yard. He was silenced almost immediately by a barrage of wet leafy snowballs from Xigbar and Axel, who were cooing at the cuddling pair of grown men standing in the middle of the street.

Reno almost ran them over when he came back from the store, but they didn't care. They just wandered into the house, where Demyx carefully placed Zexion's antler hat on his head. In the chaos that was Roxas and Larxene screaming at each other about the light-to-tinsel ratio on the tree and the sounds of Axel and Xigbar stomping on the roof, Demyx made Zexion a cup of coffee and listened to the story of his week.

It really hadn't been much like the holiday season without Zexion, Demy reflected happily. But he didn't have that problem anymore.


End file.
